Hard work and competence should be rewarded, but that's not always what happens. Sometimes when you do great work at a company you not only get shafted but kicked to the curb. Jeffrey Steele, writing for personal finance blog Five Cent Nickel, offers up a cautionary tale about being too competent:

A colleague within his organization left on a sabbatical, and Ned was tabbed to cover both his own responsibilities and the sales functions of the departing co-worker. The following weeks proved pivotal.
Ned not only shouldered his own duties with his customary aplomb, but injected fresh new insights into the sales position. Under Ned's stewardship, sales and revenues climbed to levels never before tallied by the firm.

That's when Ned's boss "got it." Not only was Ned good, he was too good. Any more brilliance from him, and she might be leapfrogged on the corporate ladder by the very man whose job performance she graded. When Ned's next job review came around, he had reason to expect an even more glowing appraisal. Instead, his boss tore into him, ripping his decision-making skills and marginalizing his contributions to the company. And from all accounts she managed to pull it off with a straight face.

Maybe she thought he'd get mad and quit, but that didn't happen. So she began hinting, first subtly and then more baldly, that Ned should look elsewhere for employment. Ned finally was forced out, his boss kept her post and large paycheck, and the firm lost a vital contributor.

It's unlikely that this situation is the norm, but it's not the first time I've heard a story about a paranoid boss trying to sabotage a lower-ranked employee. Does that mean you shouldn't be awesome at your job? In our opinion: No way. Keep doing great work. If you work at a job toxic enough to fire you for being excellent, then it's probably not a place worth setting down roots anyway.

It doesn't hurt to hedge your bets, though, and this is a good reminder that you should always be prepared for the worst, even if you're the best. Steele recommends keeping a few months worth of pay as savings in case of unemployment. While this is always good advice, it's the kind of advice many people ignore when they think their job is safe. A lack of competency isn't the only thing that can get you laid off, so always be prepared.